Normal Isn't Ordinary [Pokemon SI]

[sabbync]

This story is undergoing a rewrite. The story is largely the same with mostly stylistic improvements, so I will be updating the chapters rather than starting a new thread. I apologize for the time away, and for not letting y'all know that I was taking a break. Going forward I hope to be able to update this regularly, but if I can't, I will make sure to post a hiatus notice

 

[NightmareWarden]

It's still good news in my book! Glad you are still interested in the fic.

 

[sabbync]

AN: Rewrite is finished. Welcome back to Normal Isn't Ordinary, with the first new chapter in almost a year

4 Months Later

"Listen up!" Antonio shouted. "As all of you know, peace has been officially declared in the Indigo Region."

Despite the old news, one of us were able to hold back our cheers. "Peace, Rice, and Rest!" I shouted the Indigo Communist Party's slogan. While the wounds were still fresh (Ecruteak had fallen two months prior, the bloody battle taking Jonnie with it) the news of peace was still worth celebrating. To many, myself included, it seemed more a miracle than a reality.

"It's finally within our grasp," Antonio agreed. "However! While peace is at hand, there is still much work to do, especially for you all. As of next month, the Goldenrod City Gym will be turning its attention away from civilian affairs. Instead, we will be focusing on you." Antonio glared at us. "Currently, only one of you lot is of acceptable strength for a full-time Gym Trainer."

I winced. There were twelve of us, and of the eleven not making the cut only I had the excuse of being a child.

"That, however, is something we can fix," Antonio continued. "What we cannot fix is disloyalty, dishonor, and greed. I would rather have the twelve of you to train than Walter's fifty to command." He stared at us, his gaze no less harsh. "This will not be easy. This will not be fast. But so long as you are willing to try, I will be there to help you. Are you in?"

"YES SIR!" we shouted.

"Good," Antonio nodded. "Now, assignments. While our current duties still stand, we shall begin our training now. Every day, you and your partner will train for at least two hours. And I mean you, not just your pokemon. Starting next week, I will meet with a different pair each day to review and reassess. Your partners are as follows: Choji with Albert. Elise with Ran. Jessica with Akira. Junko with . . ."

"Hey," Akira whispered to me, already bouncing on his feet. "Ready to get started?" A martial artist and former construction worker, Akira's knowledge of the Machop line was half the reason he'd been put in charge of the Gym's rebuilding efforts. I was pretty sure he was the one Antonio singled out as competent as well, seeing as he had two Machoke who followed his every word.

"Definitely!" I answered with a smile. "I'm excited to learn. I looked up Teddiursa's potential moves the last time I was in the library, and there's a bunch of Fighting-type moves I was hoping you could help me with."

"Ha!" Akira laughed good-naturedly. "Yes, perhaps eventually. But first we must ensure the foundation is secure. Without a base, any structure will crumble under pressure. What moves does your Teddiursa know?"

"Fury Swipes, Hone Claws, Crunch, and Slash," I smiled. I was really proud of the last two. Teddiursa had learned Slash well before the expected five or six years in the wild, and Crunch was typically something they didn't learn on their own.

"Strong moveset," Akira noted. "Limited, however."

I grimaced and nodded. With so much time focused on gathering food and medicine I had abandoned my previous exhaustive (exhausting, as Teddiursa would insist) plan for training and instead focused on improving what he already had.

"Still, the master of a single punch will defeat some nerd who has read about a thousand different punches," Akira continued. "Today I will test you and your Teddiursa. Not only moves, but speed and endurance. Capability of fighting with and without orders. Only then will I know where to begin." He smiled, and I recoiled and the sadistic visage. Taking out a stopwatch, Akira pointed at a tree a hundred meters away. "Run there and back. Just you for now. Starting . . . now!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

"You," I panted, willpower alone allowing me to stand and breathe, "are a monster."

"I am," Akira happily agreed, no less cheerful for having run every sprint with me. And lifted weights far more than me. And– "And I'm going to make you one too! That's all for today though. Both of you are still young, and need to eat and rest."

"Ursa?" Teddiursa asked, looking up with hopeful eyes.

"We're done," I told him.

"Teddi–" he began, and fell to the ground ready to sleep.

"Nope!" Akira stepped forward, heaving Teddiursa to his feet.

"Ted!"

"Need you to eat first," Akira said, clapping the poor bear on the shoulder. Akira wrinkled his nose. "And bathe. You too Jessica."

"I can't wait for a shower," I agreed happily. Of all the shortages that Goldenrod had faced post-revolution, water was fortunately never one. It was hard to run out of water when the Water Department (recently nationalized) could simply use pokemon to conjure hundreds of gallons from nothing, or purify thousands of gallons of seawater. "What are we working on tomorrow?"

"I need to finish the lesson-plan," Akira said, "but I can give you a rough outline. Both you and Teddiursa have a good base to start from, but it's nothing astounding. We'll work on bulking him up, and I'll be teaching you some martial arts as well. Useful even if you never end up with a Fighting-type and necessary if you do. Crunch is a lot more powerful than I expected, I'm surprised you managed to get him there. Even Bite is pretty advanced for a Teddiursa. That said, you need new moves. Start with Growl and move onto Roar. Hone Claws could use some work too–right now he's just pushing the energy in, nor really focusing on what sharpness means."

"What sharpness means?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Do you know what Aura is?"

"Yes."

"Good," Akira sighed in relief. "I hate explaining that. Aura powers Moves, but concepts are what perfect them. To make something sharp, you must first understand what sharpness is. What it means to you, and to the world around you. Without that concept you are trying to make a knife with nothing more than a hammer and chisel. Possible, but far more work than it is worth."

"And understanding the concept is like a whetstone?" I asked.

"Exactly!" Akira smiled. "It allows you to hone power into a single point. A jet of water rather than a wave."

"But a wave has its own uses."

"Indeed it does," Akira agreed. "Brute force is never useless. Power is never useless. But without knowledge there is only so much it can do."

"How do I teach Teddiursa about concepts?"

"Help him understand what they mean to him," Akira suggested. "Show the difference between a dull blade and a sharp blade. Show the difference between honed claws and unhoned claws. The better your bond, the faster he will learn as he picks up meaning from you. But there is no shortcut. There is no secret trick, no hidden meaning. Improvement and self-improvement are an endless journey, and many abandon the path upon seeing how far they still have to go."

"I won't quit!"

"Good," Akira smiled. "But we are done for the day. Bathe. Eat. Sleep. And come back tomorrow prepared for more."

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

So is this a new chapter or the new ch 1? I'm confused. Regardless it was an awesome chapter

 

[thatlurkerinthecorner]

So is this a new chapter or the new ch 1? I'm confused. Regardless it was an awesome chapter

Click to shrink...

Seems like a new chapter. Looking at all previous chapters you can see they've been tagged with a last edited yesterday/today

Ok time to reread everything

 

[sabbync]

So is this a new chapter or the new ch 1? I'm confused. Regardless it was an awesome chapter

Click to shrink...

New chapter, the other ones have all been edited

 

[sabbync]

Two Years Later/October 18th, 1 AP (after peace)

"Good!" I shouted, jumping up and down as Teddiursa slammed into the Machoke. "Full attack!"

Teddiursa's jaws clamped down in a vicious Bite as his claws lashed out in Fury Swipes. We hadn't quite figured out how to use Crunch and Slash instead, but the damage was still significant. The Machoke cried out in pain Dark type-energy flowed through it.

"Close Combat!" the challenger ordered. The Machoke obeyed instantly, blue-grey fists slamming down on Teddiursa's back even as his knees rose up to slam into Teddi's chest.

"Back!" I ordered, my eyes flying over Teddiursa's form. Close Combat was deadly but exhausting. It broke through the user's natural limits, allowing them to hit harder than possible at the cost of strained and pulled muscles. If we could outlast them—

"Bounce!" Machoke leapt into the air and came down with a dual Karate Chope.

"Defense Curl!" I shouted. Teddiursa hastened to obey, but it wasn't enough. The super-effective move broke through the heightened defenses, sending Teddiursa sprawling across the floor.

"Return," I ordered. Red light covered Teddiursa, pulling him back into the pokeball.

"Good match," the challenger said. She towered over me, only a few years older yet nearly a foot taller. She extended a dark tan hand which I happily accepted, though I was forced to push aura into my hand to keep it from breaking. Damned martial artists. "I hadn't expected so much competition from a Normal-type."

"Fighting may be super-effective," I admitted, "but being the most adaptable type has its benefits."

"No kidding!" she smiled. She was pretty, her black hair falling around a and darkly tanned face, highlighting her warm brown eyes. "I'm Allison, by the way."

"Jessica," I responded.

"Can you show me the way to the Gym?" Allison asked. "I'm supposed to be staying there, but Buck didn't exactly give me directions."

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "You're part of the exchange program, right?"

"Yes," Allison said, bemused. "How did you—"

"I'm a Gym Trainer," I answered. "Come on, I'll show you the way. You're the first to arrive, so you'll have your pick of the rooms."

"Impressive, to be a trainer so young."

"I worked with Leader Antonio before the Revolution," I answered the unspoken question. "Just gathering medical supplies, but it led me here."

"Ah," Allison nodded.

"How is Cianwood?" I asked as we moved through the crowded streets, our path cleared by the sight of Allison's Machoke.

"Better than before," Allison told me. "Medicine is finally coming in. There's enough food. Can't ask for much more."

"Peace, Rice, and Rest," I quoted.

"Eh," Allison wavered. "Not that I disagree with the slogan, but Cianwood isn't Goldenrod, you know? We're not a city, we're not industrial. More independent and individual, ya feel? Don't doubt that we'll work together, but we're not the same."

"Fair enough," I said. "I disagree, of course, but any kind of socialism is better than every kind of capitalism."

"Just so long as we can be friends," Allison smiled.

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "Now, this is the Gym. Ignore the plain facade, we're working on that."

"I thought there were engravings?" Allison asked.

I grimaced. "They were removed."

"Why?"

"They depicted the Burning of Dewford."

"And we have Hoennese delegates coming."

"Precisely," I agreed. "Considering this is an experimental outreach program, Leader Antonio decided it was best to err on the side of caution. Especially since the Indigo and Hoenn governments are already talking."

"Politicking," Allison huffed.

"It's–"

"Important, I know," Allison sighed. "I was just hoping for a break, you know?"

"We could do some training once you pick your room?" I offered. "I want to know how you got that dual Karate Chop down so well."

"Well," Allison began with a smirk. "It starts with training ambidexterity . . ."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

"What do you make of the newcomers?" Akira asked.

"They–puff–seem–gasp–nice–" I answered, feet pounding against the dirt road as I struggled to match his pace. "Are—huff—neg—pant—negotiations—"

"Negotiations are going well," Akira said, his breath infuriatingly even. "Stop."

I stopped immediately, slowing down to a walk as I struggled to regain my breath.
"Negotiations?" I asked, once my breathing slowed.

"They're going well," Akira repeated. "As well as can be expected, at least."

"So, no Interregional Communist Party?"

"Ha!" Akira belted. "No. An interregional alliance seems possible, but not a unified party."

"Hoenn, Sinnoh, Indigo—anyone else?" The other regions were considered Lost, but that didn't mean they were completely inaccessible. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many pet Yampers being smuggled in. It was just dangerous, and the governments were nominally still at war.

Akira frowned. "Are you trying to distract me from exercise?"

I looked up with innocent eyes. "Is it working?"

"No," Akira deadpanned. "If you're recovered enough to talk, you're recovered enough to go through move possibilities. Now," he said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his pockets, "you're still working on the Full Attack, correct?"

"We managed to get a version done today," I said. "Bite and Fury Swipes."

"Good," Akira said. "Now that you've gotten there, you'll find it easier to reach its full potential. Now, new moves. What are you thinking of?"

"The elemental fangs," I answered. "Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Ice Fang."

"Good options for coverage," Akira said. "If it's anything like teaching the elemental punches, the hard part is getting them to feel and understand the element."

"I think it'll be easier for me," I said. "Normal-type energy is adaptable, and easier to convert than Fighting-type energy."

"I suppose we'll find out. You should also work on improving Tackle, especially if you ever wish to reach Giga Impact."

"I thought that move was too dangerous for Teddiursa?"

"It is, but the precursors are not," Akira said. "With enough effort Tackle can be turned to Slam. Body Slam—Slam's more accurate cousin—and Giga Impact will need to wait until evolution, but Slam can be learned already."

"Huh," I said. "Interesting. Slam is like Tackle, right?"

"It crashes into the opponent with the full body," Akira said. "Thus the whole body must be involved, and with a high degree of type-energy. It will take time to learn."

"Anything worthwhile does."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

"Sa," Teddiursa sighed. "Sa-sa-sa."

I smiled, gently pulling the brush through his fur. He was nearly twice the size he'd been when we first met, and his guard hairs were starting to form—signs of evolution in the near future, were it not for the laws. Understandably, Ursaring were considered far too dangerous for a child to have. They were large and powerful, capable of destroying trees even without type-energy. Early in the war wild Ursaring had been teleported into cities where they killed hundreds and destroyed entire neighborhoods.

Hence, Teddiursa now had an everstone necklace. He technically didn't need one yet but neither Teddiursa nor I wanted to risk being separated should he evolve early.

"What do you want for dinner?" I asked Teddiursa as I pulled the loose hairs from the brush. "Venison? Magikarp?"

"Ursa!"

"Magikarp it is," I grinned. "Raw or— a"

Teddiursa Growled. I winced as the Normal type-energy washed over me

"Okay, okay, raw it is," I agreed. "Let me get it first, okay?"

"Sa," Teddiursa proclaimed proudly, and once more melted into the floor, enjoying his post-brushing relaxation.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Using Growl on your trainer? Hmm. Not a good habit to get in your head.

I wonder about the move Fury Swipes and Rage for an Ursarang. Teddiursa has never been able to learn the latter, in spite of the anger of wild ursarangs. Maybe they can, but it is illegal? You'd figure some trainers would learn it, and fold it into other moves.

I don't recognize Allison. I wonder if she has a deep bag of tricks, to justify the risk of getting sent here?

 

[Despacitoleo]

Welp mc gonna have to slap down teddiursa